Michael Jackson Roundup: Judge Agrees With Sony On 'This Is It' Footage; Tribute Concert In Works

Sony Pictures attorneys had argued that jurors in Michael Jackson’s manslaughter case should not see unreleased footage from the studio’s Jackson documentary This Is It in order to determine the state of the singer’s health before his death in June 2009. Now the judge in the case against Conrad Murray has agreed; after watching several hours of the footage, Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said that “there is absolutely nothing in those materials that could have been of assistance to the defense.” That’s after more than 100 hours of raw footage was screened at Sony by lawyers, the studio said. It’s good news for Sony, which wanted to protect the “significant potential future commercial value of this unreleased footage.” At stake was rehearsal footage that can be used for follow-ups to This Is It, which has grossed $261.2 million worldwide since its release in October 2009.

Meanwhile, the Jackson family has announced a tribute concert for Oct. 8 in Wales, though details remain sketchy. Tickets for Michael Forever — The Tribute Concert will go on sale in August via Global Event Live, which plans to stream the concert online. Jury selection in Jackson’s manslaughter trial begins Sept. 8, which likely places the concert during the court case.